AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training

Quality of Aircraft	1		Quality of Instruction	1
Availability of Aircraft	1		Availability of Instruction	1
Cleanliness of Aircraft	1		Facility Amenities	1
Community Atmosphere	1		Friendliness of Staff	1
Professionalism of Staff	1		Value of Training	1
Overall Score: 1/5

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Employee(s) worked with: Tom Kuhlmann, Anthony (Tony) Montalte

Reason for visit: Flight Training

I recommend this flight school: No

Pros None

Cons Read review too many to llist.

My Review of AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training:
Accelerated Flight and Instrument Training is not a flight school at all, it is a subcontractor of flight instructors. For $6,000+ less, and at any chosen airport, you can do the exact same training. AFIT uses unmaintained aircraft that are not owned by the school, they are rented from a third party. The instructors were unprofessional and it was a highly disappointing experience for me.

Due to my instructor being excessively overweight, I was forced into upgrading to a higher horse powered Piper Arrow. A Warrior would not haul the excess weight with the altitude we were at. This upgrade alone cost me over $1,000 on top of the original $16,000 astronomical price. This aircraft was also over-booked for rental, so it wasn't available for all of my required hours. AFIT did not take the initiative of reserving me an aircraft.

My second aircraft was rented from a mechanic at a nearby hangar. Wheel chocks were propped under the seat to keep it from falling into the back seat during flight. During run-ups, the aircraft's flaps were stuck in the down position. After dealing with this faulty, unsafe aircraft I was still instructed to “just take off anyway". Around 40 knots, the flaps would pop back into the up position for take-off. Finally, the magnetos went and the plane completely broke down.

A third aircraft was then rented and there was so much heat coming from the engine compartment that it burned my left foot. When exiting the aircraft there was rubber from my sneaker melted to the floor panel. This was ignored and we continued to fly. I was told to “man up” after I made a complaint.

On my eighth day of training, my instructor pawned me off on another instructor who had just gotten his CFI rating that same week. My original instructor was not present for three days of the 14 day training. By the end of the two weeks, I had only flown a little over 30 hours, which was 10 hours short of valuable training.

I was still sent unprepared into an oral and check ride. The reasoning was I had a previous seven hours in my log book from a previous year when I was being introduced to aviation. I explained to my instructor I was not comfortable or prepared to take the test. He insisted, and then I failed my check ride in the first five minutes of my oral exam. When I pleaded with owner (Anthony Montalte) for a different instructor to complete the course, he offered me one day of complimentary training. So not only was I not fully trained, I was denied. The FAA should probably look into this school, or at a minimum, inspect their aircraft.

These are my reasons for such a terrible review.

Quality of Aircraft	2		Quality of Instruction	4
Availability of Aircraft	4		Availability of Instruction	4
Cleanliness of Aircraft	4		Facility Amenities	2
Community Atmosphere	3		Friendliness of Staff	4
Professionalism of Staff	4		Value of Training	2
Overall Score: 3.3/5

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Employee(s) worked with: Todd/Tony

Reason for visit: Flight Training

I recommend this flight school: No

Pros Good instructor

Cons No ELT or weight and balance for aircraft VOR navigation only No FAA examiner available for check ride outside of double the cost Local examiners frown upon program Lack of accountability

My Review of AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training:
My wife attended the course in Idaho. The aircraft was new to everyone on day one of training. It had no ELT, weight and balance and only VOR navigation. The local field had frequent inop lighting and made night flying more difficult. Local examiner available wanted double
The normal rate for checkride because he was the only game in town. Lack of accountability on company side when safety and quality concerns were expressed.

Quality of Aircraft	5		Quality of Instruction	5
Availability of Aircraft	5		Availability of Instruction	5
Cleanliness of Aircraft	5		Facility Amenities	5
Community Atmosphere	5		Friendliness of Staff	5
Professionalism of Staff	5		Value of Training	5
Overall Score: 5/5

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Employee(s) worked with: Andy Bibber

Reason for visit: Flight Training

I recommend this flight school: Yes

Pros A Great Experience

Cons

My Review of AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training:
The whole process was great, from getting signed up, to last minute review for the check ride. I really appreciate your professionalism and patience, working with me to fit the training into my schedule. Furthermore, I could not have asked for a better instructor than Andy. He is very knowledgeable and confident in his skills/abilities. His calm demeanor and patience allowed me to learn in a stress free environment. I would recommend him as an instructor to anyone looking to become a pilot.

I also really enjoyed the accelerated training program schedule. It was very beneficial to be fully immersed in the flight training. It allowed me to minimize distractions, get a better grasp of the knowledge (i.e 'why' instead of just 'what') and get a better feel for flying since I was doing it constantly.

Quality of Aircraft	3		Quality of Instruction	1
Availability of Aircraft	3		Availability of Instruction	1
Cleanliness of Aircraft	3		Facility Amenities	N/A
Community Atmosphere	1		Friendliness of Staff	1
Professionalism of Staff	1		Value of Training	1
Overall Score: 1.7/5

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Employee(s) worked with: notcomfortable

Reason for visit: Flight Training

I recommend this flight school: No

Pros

Cons

My Review of AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training:
I had a very bad experience with this flight school. They insisted I pay them for the full amount in advance, which I did. After several days of training, and before accumulating 40 hours of instruction, the owner of the school told me that I had used up all of my flying days. I was shocked, considering they didn't complete the instruction and didn't even schedule the checkride. I offered to pay more, and they told me the instructors are booked with other students. I never got my rating. After spending $6000 and taking a week and a half away from work, I went online to check the reviews, and saw that they were a scam and other people had even worse complaints. My advice to all the nice people who don't want to get scammed: Never hire AFIT and never pay in advance for a course you haven't started, with people you've never met.

Quality of Aircraft	5		Quality of Instruction	5
Availability of Aircraft	5		Availability of Instruction	5
Cleanliness of Aircraft	5		Facility Amenities	5
Community Atmosphere	5		Friendliness of Staff	5
Professionalism of Staff	5		Value of Training	5
Overall Score: 5/5

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Employee(s) worked with: 2

Reason for visit: Flight Training

I recommend this flight school: Yes

Pros Best instructuon I have ever had.

Cons None

My Review of AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training:
AFIT took me from zero experience to a fully certified private pilot in just two weeks. Their total immersion program was the perfect environment to gain all the necessary skills to become a safe, competent, and confident pilot. Flying every day in the AFIT intensive flight program not only allowed me to retain and recall my previous flight lessons with ease, it also provided the opportunity to more easily build upon that skill-set which quickened the pace at which I was developing my piloting abilities. I can't imagine a better route towards acquiring my certification.

Jason Covy Ph.D.
University of Pennsylvania
Stanford University, Stanford, California

Quality of Aircraft	5		Quality of Instruction	5
Availability of Aircraft	5		Availability of Instruction	5
Cleanliness of Aircraft	5		Facility Amenities	5
Community Atmosphere	5		Friendliness of Staff	5
Professionalism of Staff	5		Value of Training	5
Overall Score: 5/5

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Employee(s) worked with: Cholena Parkhurst

Reason for visit: Flight Training

I recommend this flight school: Yes

Pros Amazing organization. Professional and courteous.

Cons None..

My Review of AFIT Accelerated Flight & Instrument Training:
I learned more with AFIT in 10 days then I have in the past 10 years of flying. Great people great organization. I tried another accelerated school but was soon disappointed. Young instructor and not a seasoned professional like I received with AFIT. I will be staying ion touch with AFIT for future training, etc.